Kimchi Critic

Yes I know, you’re getting sick of these, but I felt it was necessary to make sure I had covered all the information regarding the half-peeled fruits.

After sending the school office into an uproarious conversation about the history and tradition of these fruits, we finally came to a conclusion.

The spirits of the dead are unable to absorb the food left out as offerings for them if there is any protective covering around the food.  They do not eat the food but instead, absorb it (like osmosis?) through their skin.

Sounds strange, I know.  But, after about a half an hour of research and debate amongst the teachers, this is exactly what they told me.  Really interesting stuff.

Previously, I had been wondering why apples and pears were set out half-peeled in front of the dead body at the Korean funeral I went to in Chuncheon.  Well, I asked my friend, the Pharmacist, to explain this phenomenon to me.

Apparently Koreans believe that the spirit of the deceased enters the room during the 3 days and 2 nights which the family spends mourning before they complete the ceremony and cremate/bury the body.

Because this spirit is actually unable to peel the apples and pears him/herself, they are set out half-peeled so that the spirit can consume them unhindered by the peel.  Koreans believe that you should peel your apple, pear, orange, grape, whatever fruit before eating it.  I, on the other hand, have been brought up in the school of ‘roughage’ however and know that in fact, the most nutrient-rich part of the food is the peel.

But, after all, what dead person’s spirit is concerned with nutrients?

Bad news.  My internetz is broken at home again.  I have many wonderful pictures from the amazing Saturday I had, but…until I decide to clean off the Jay-Z from my memory stick and drag loads of pictures to school with me, they’ll have to wait.

For now, a little story:

I got up quite early on Saturday and made my way into Seoul by noon.  (This is an accomplishment since I live so far out in the boonies, but it was worth it, trust me.)

At first, I was confused because all I saw was the “Cafe Show” sign and being that I’m half Korean already, had a small anxiety attack that I had misunderstood the website.  Walking further on, however, I finally saw the correct sign and apparently, the two shows coincided with one another and were in the exact same exhibition hall.  I was thrilled to say the least.

Stepping into Hall C with my “badge” proudly displaying my name, I made a beeline for the chocolate.  I saw an ajumma in front of me take what I thought was a sample of chocolate.  I followed suit.  As most of us know, old Korean women do…well… just about anything they want, social conventions be damned.  I was caught.  “No sample” the exhibitioner said.  Oops.  I repeatedly apologized and explained that I saw someone else take a sample.  Nevertheless, she told me to return at 1pm or 3pm if I wanted free samples.

10 cups of free sample Indonesian, Guatemalen, and Ethiopian coffee later, I had forgotten all about the chocolates.  Anna, Jenna, Jamie, and Eric had all joined me by then and we made a round or two at the wine bar.  (3,000 won got you a glass and all the free wine samples you could drink = GENIUS)  Aimlessly strolling past the same chocolate exhibit (Praline was the name of the chocolatier, by the way), I felt a strong hand yank me on the arm.  “Come with me!”  It was the exhibitor who had gotten angry with me.  She led Anna and I into her stand and explained that she had been waiting for me.  A tupperware container revealed some of the most delicious chocolates I’ve ever tasted.  Especially for this genuine cocoa-deprived country.

These particular chocolates were a bit soft, a ganache I assume, rolled in cocoa powder.  Slightly warmed by the bright lights, they dissipated the second they hit my tongue.  My friends know that I’m the emotional type.  I know I’m the emotional type.  Even so, usually I am able to contain myself in front of a crowd of people.  Tasting the chocolates though, I practically thought I was going to faint.  I am not exaggerating at all.  They were simply amazing.  No extra flavors, no preservatives, no other “stuff” that chocolatiers put in their chocolate to enhance the texture.

Praline was amazing.  I picked up a brochure from this lady but unfortunately misplaced it.  I shall do some research to see if I can find it again.  I will leave it at that for now.  Another place that completely shocked my tastebuds was the Ethiopian coffee.  I have their business card and will pass on the information shortly.

First, a recap:

It’s a Friday morning and I’m sitting here at my desk, exhausted from a late-night trip to Chuncheon with my co-teacher to attend his friend’s father’s funeral.  I admit it was a strange way to celebrate the November 26 holiday.  @hotyellowfellows and @datinginkorea:  it was also full of weird occurrences such as my co-teacher introducing me as his girlfriend (I’m sorry, WHUT?!) and subsequently being hit on by one of his colleagues who later demanded my phone number.  But, this being a food blog, I’ll stick to the main topic and that’ll be a story for another wine time.

Last night the food consisted of rice cakes (of course), and practically everything you can imagine encrusted with egg.  The funeral room itself was quite small, but loaded with food offerings and lovely-smelling incense.  What I found most strange was the half-peeled Asian pears and apples.  At the time, I hadn’t thought to ask Shin why this was because I was trying not to act like the token foreigner I was.  I even dressed in black for the occasion and I’m glad I did as I received much unwarranted attention.

Now, onto the real point of this post:

Tomorrow is the Seoul International Fancyfood Festival!  (Click the link for the English website)

My excitement is only tempered by my lack of sleep today.  I feel ecstatic about this.  In fact, I’m so excited, I’ve pledged to get myself out of bed quite early on a Saturday—5 or 6am (it really isn’t fun living so far from Seoul) to catch the 8am train into the city.  That way, I will be able to reach COEX by the 11am start time.  We shall see if my plan goes exactly as I wish it to as right now I feel as though I could fall into a deep…REM…sleep….

After a day of grazing and photography and (hopefully!) many discussions with vendors, our close-knit group of comrades will settle down to a Thanksgiving meal at Big Rock Brewery in Gangnam from 6:30-9pm.  If there’s anyone out there in Korea-land who doesn’t have anywhere to go, I have one extra ticket, let me know if you’d like to join—the more the merrier!

Last year, four of us went to Thanksgiving dinner at the brewery and it was quite good.  However, they ran out of food.  It is an all-you-can-eat buffet and that + 60 or so hungry foreigners?  Recipe for a food shortage.  We arrived early last year and had no problems getting enough to eat.  I hope for the other customers, they will have more food this year as it would be very disappointing to arrive on Thanksgiving after you have already paid and not be allowed to gorge yourself on the festival fare.  Us waegooks need these dinners especially when we’re so far from home.

As for my own personal holiday?  I cooked up those little Sweet Potato Pie fritters and plan on doing something creative with the can of cranberry sauce (yes, the one that plops out whole in the shape of the aluminum can it came in) my mom sent me.  I actually love this stuff.  It’s stirs up such strong nostalgia for me of Thanksgivings/Christmases at grandma’s and my terror at the thought of adults eating real RAW cranberry relish.  At the time, I was unable to appreciate the flavor layers and combinations of Thanksgiving dinner.  I opted for the cylinder slices of cranberry-flavored wobbling sugar jelly instead.  One bite brings me back to that huge oval table, the art-deco dining room, 50’s-style cutlery, unnecessarily strong hot totties my uncle made and my mom’s lemon mirengue pie.

Unfortunately, those days are long gone as my grandma passed away about 5 years ago now and my mom and aunts have claimed “irreconcilable differences” and haven’t spoken for a few years now.  Though I miss those times, I am not unaware that the holidays were laden with stress and anxiety for my mom.  She felt she was in constant competition with her sisters and for reasons I won’t get into, my grandparents never really approved of my dad.  I’ll never figure that one out, he’s the hardest working and most hilarious person I know.  He only becomes funnier and dirtier as he gets older.  I think it’s fantastic.

Though I miss my home at this time more than ever, I feel secure in the fact that my friends are my family in Korea.  My co-workers are endlessly kind, thoughtful, and entertaining and I’m lucky to be in such an amazing place in my life.  This is what Thanksgiving is all about—genuine gratitude.

I’m also thankful for tastebuds.  And the synapses and neurons that fire every time I put something delicious into my mouth….  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It took me forever, but upon request (@hotyellowfellows) I’ve re-added them to my blog.

P.S. why don’t they make it easier to have comments?!?!  Jeez, I just must not be very computer saavy!

From The Early American Table:  Food and Society in the New World by Trudy Eden, page 49:

“On a hot muggy day in September 1607, Edward Maria Wingfield sat alone in a pinnace moored on the James river.  While the other men in the colony worked, Wingfield thought and, more than likely, paced and fumed, for he could not leave…What crime had he committed?  He had refused to share his chickens and beer with other council members.”

The story of Edward Wingfield goes as follows:  rich man elected president of the council.  Rich man refuses to eat from communal kettle, instead hoarding all the chickens to himself.  Rich man is deposed of, defends himself by claiming that he was purposely leaving more food for others by refraining from the communal kettle.

Facts of this story aren’t important but what is essential to note is even after these early Americans had planted themselves physically, squarely in a new territory of land, the connection between food quality and status still pervaded their conceptions of class and food distribution practices.

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of racism issues arise due to, well, to be honest, I don’t know why.  I received an email from ATEK (Association for Teachers of English in Korea) detailing the hate crimes that a Korean group, Anti-English Spectrum, has been committing against teachers such as myself.  Their reasoning—Koreans don’t need to learn English.  Ever.

In addition, some friends of mine have posted pictures from Halloween online with… kids in blackface. “So, what?” you’re thinking, right?  Blackface isn’t a big deal, right?  United States law actually prohibits the use of blackface only if it’s used in a hate crime:

“Blackface is not seen as a “hate crime” as long as one uses it in a historical, satirical or artistic theme.”

Ok, so perhaps I should calm down about the blackface issue.  Or not.  George Santayana:  “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  To all of you out there who think that it’s cool to wear blackface on Halloween to impersonate your favorite rapper, perhaps you should consider the minstrelsy, darkie, and vaudeville culture which it originated from.  Oh yeah, don’t forget Jim Crow.  I’m not saying I believe that slavery will make some kind of triumphant return, but I feel that it is important to remember the effect it had on our country and the effect that it still bears today.  Race issues still run rampant.  Awareness people, awareness.

This brings me back to Wingfield and his experience in early America—before slavery.  Really, I believe racial issues were born out of the class system that the British brought over to and implemented in America.

It all started with the idea of the “Golden Mean.”  Early Americans believed that their bodies needed to be kept balanced.  Cold, phlegmatic temperaments required hot, dry foods to counter the negative effects of disdaining from a balanced body.  In contrast, people with hot tempers were fed cold foods to counteract their off-balance personalities.  Keeping the humoral balance was number one priority for these people and they had quite a time trying to do so in such an infant nation.

Essentially, these people believed that refined English foods were more beneficial to them when compared to the “rough” native foods which the Native Americans consumed.  Rough food makes rough people was their mantra.  Stay away from native foods, they will cause you to become native.  Herein lies what I believe to be the start of the racist ideology.  Wingfield’s refusal to eat from the communal kettle is a symptom of these beliefs.  Lower food = lower class level.  Rough food = savagery.  Therefore, because of the less-refined food that they ate, among other things such as religious beliefs, the Native Americans were seen as savages.  They starved when there was no food, they ate plentifully when it was available.  To the American pilgrims this signified a violent oscillation of the body in which a humoral balance was unable to be preserved, ergo, they must be lower class citizens.

White sugar was the epitome of humoral balance and the golden mean simply because of its sweet taste.

All of this sounds ridiculous to us.  Or does it?  What do people with limited incomes eat in our modern society?  Highly-refined corn syrup-laden junk food.  It’s the cheapest thing they can buy and requires little or no preparation.  Interesting how we’ve moved from the near-worship status of refined foods to the condemnation of them based on scientific evidence of the causal relationship to death and disease.

My friend, Kassie, lives in Kentucky in one of the poorest areas of the United States.  She sent me a video detailing the food habits of people in this area via CNN.  What I saw on that video was terrifying to me.  Parents, filling baby bottles full of Mountain Dew.  Children eating suppers of ketchup-covered scrambled eggs and you guessed it—Mountain Dew.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this, I left my notes at school but wanted to get this posted so at the moment I’ll curtail my rant by saying that food choices are extremely important.  Every choice we make has a historical and societal context.  And please, for the love of everything that’s good in this world, don’t put on blackface at Halloween.

In the next post, I shall relate this all to Korean food society.